2023 presidency: Wike, Peter Obi parley in Port Harcourt

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, met with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, behind closed doors.

Obi met with Wike at the governor’s private residence in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The details of the meeting, however, remain unknown as the politicians failed to speak to journalists on the purpose of the meeting.

The meeting comes amidst reports that Wike is planning to dump the Peoples Democratic Party following his loss at the PDP’s presidential primaries and not emerging as the running mate of the party’s presidential standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar.

Wike came second in the PDP’s presidential primaries with 237 votes, while Atiku emerged as the party’s flag bearer having polled 371 votes.

Atiku later chose Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

The meeting between Obi and Wike on Wednesday is also coming amidst reports that the former governor of Anambra State and his party are in talks with NNPP presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, over a possible merger.

It would be recalled that Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, said he was in talks with Obi on a possible merger ahead of the 2023 general election.

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The NNPP standard bearer made the disclosure in an interview with BBC.

He said: “Honestly I am in talks with Peter Obi and my committee members are also working tirelessly to do the needful regarding our merger with the Labour Party.

“We are looking into the matter to see how we can cooperate with him and also now that family and friends have also been talking to us about that possibility.”

Kwankwaso added that merging with the Labour Party was important following the failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to pick their running mates from the South-East geopolitical zone.

Obi, however, hails from the South-East.

The Star